<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Under the Influence by bearpantaloons</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22655620">Under the Influence</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bearpantaloons/pseuds/bearpantaloons'>bearpantaloons</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supergirl (TV 2015)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Valentine's Day, guess who her target is, it's a fun time for everyone, lena is a cupid who despises love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 14:41:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,447</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22655620</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bearpantaloons/pseuds/bearpantaloons</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lena Luthor is a disgruntled Cupid, who never misses a target.</p><p>Until the one day she does.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>373</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Supercorp Content Creators' Guild Valentine's Day Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Under the Influence</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemousejelly/gifts">littlemousejelly</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>To Lena, the very idea of love is the antithesis of what she’s about. Love makes people do incredibly stupid things and say stupid things and just… <em>sigh</em>. Then brain chemicals do wonky things and make people act in a way that you wouldn’t normally act. Serotonin is a menace; Dopamine is the devil. In any case, being in the business of love is a profession she never thought she’d find herself in, but here she was: Lena Luthor, Cupid, despiser of love.</p><p>The way Cupids work is they’re partnered with another and they’re assigned targets. Together, they find their targets, work their magic, then call it a day. Up until now, Lena hasn’t missed a single shot, which is something she should be proud of, but she’s spreading love, which disgusts her beyond words.</p><p>Nia, her partner, is a hopeless romantic. Believes in true love and soulmates and love at first sight, and it makes Lena want to barf. She’s nice enough, but if she has to hear one more thing about the past targets she’s checked up on and how they’re doing so well and so in love, she might have to stick an arrow where the sun don’t shine.</p><p>She receives her next assignment and Nia pops up and looks at it over her shoulder.</p><p>“Kara Danvers, National City?”</p><p>Lena crumples the paper in her hand and tosses it to the ground while Nia picks it up and flattens it out. This one should be easy – reporter, single since birth, has a sister in a loving relationship, hasn’t had a date in over a year. She’ll be pliable and ready to fall for the first person she sees. Often times, their targets fall in love without a hitch, but every once in a while, there’s a stubborn one who refuses and Lena has to stick it to them two or three times before it kicks in.</p><p>They astral project or whatever to National City (Lena has no idea how they travel and she doesn’t ask questions) and head off to find their target. Checking Kara’s apartment first, they find it empty and then they try her workplace, which is also a bust.</p><p>“Where the heck is this girl?” Lena asks herself rhetorically, but, of course, Nia answers.</p><p>“Maybe her sister’s? Mother’s house? The gym? Wait, isn’t today Valentine’s Day?”</p><p>Lena checks her calendar and, sure enough, it’s freaking Valentine’s Day. Great. No wonder everything is pink and red. She groans and pops her neck.</p><p>“Where would a single woman in her mid-twenties go on Valentine’s Day?” questions Lena.</p><p>Nia snaps her fingers. “I know!” She takes off down the street and Lena’s forced to follow her, but she is <em>not</em> running. They arrive at a liquor store where they find a gaggle of men and women purchasing wine for their nights in by themselves. Nia waits for Lena outside and gestures toward the store, smiling proudly. Lena rolls her eyes and walks through the sliding doors, the mechanical bell dinging loudly as she walks past the threshold. She scans the store, looking for her target, and she finally spots her standing in front of the cabernets.</p><p>“There she is,” Lena whispers to Nia.</p><p>“Okay, and there’s mine,” Nia points to a man with his back turned to them.</p><p>They duck behind the Keystones and watch her. If Lena had a romantic bone in her body, she’d probably think Kara was easy on the eyes, kind of pretty in a muted preschool teacher sort of way. She certainly doesn’t look like a reporter. Lena draws her bow and aims it at Kara’s leg – the meaty parts of the body are usually the best places. She’s about to shoot when someone comes barreling into the store and bumps into Lena, who fires in the completely wrong direction and it bounces off the ceiling and walls.</p><p>“Motherfu—” She feels a stabbing pain in her ass.</p><p>Oh.</p><p>
  <em>Oh no.</em>
</p><p>“Oh, gosh, are you okay? That guy was a complete jerk. If he wanted to get his wife something nice, he shouldn’t have waited until the last minute, and definitely not from the corner liquor store. This stuff is reserved for the sad singles who want to mope.”</p><p>Lena’s afraid to look up, but when she sees a hand being offered in front of her face, she takes it and stands up. In front of her is her target, Kara Danvers. Her eyes are really… <em>blue</em>. So blue. She wants to swim in them. She wants to—no, she doesn’t want to do anything! Nia comes up and introduces herself, shaking Kara’s hand.</p><p>“Oh! Are you two—sorry, I assumed you were here the same reason I was. I’m so sorry,” Kara fumbles over her words and nervously adjusts her glasses.</p><p>“What, Lena and me? Oh, god no. I mean, not that she isn’t girlfriend worthy. We’re just coworkers and I have a strict policy of not dating coworkers.”</p><p>“Lena,” Kara repeats and smiles brightly. “That’s a nice name.”</p><p>Lena feels a warmth travel from her neck up to her ears and it’s completely against her will. Nia stares at both of them and has this irritating grin on her face.</p><p>“So…” Nia drawls, pointing to the bottle of wine in Kara’s hand. “Looking to have a fun night tonight?”</p><p>“Oh, this?” Kara laughs nervously. “I mean, nothing a bath and a good bottle of wine can’t fix, am I right?”</p><p>“I hear you, sister,” Nia agrees. “Lena doesn’t have any plans, either.” Lena looks at her like she’s lost her mind.</p><p>“That’s… surprising,” Kara replies, adjusting her glasses again. Nia’s eyes dart between the two of them expectantly.</p><p>“I don’t have any plans, either,” a man says, stepping in between Kara and Lena. He’s wearing an expensive suit and smells like he bathed in cologne. “Hi, I’m Mike.”</p><p>“Oh, uh, hi?” Kara says, politely shaking his hand. “I’m Kara.” The man continues to tell her all about his night that he’s about to have – hosting a party for singles at his swanky apartment on the upper eastside and Lena rolls her eyes into next week.</p><p>“Anyway, we should get back to work,” Lena says quickly. “Hope you enjoy your night.”</p><p>“Lena, it’s eight at night,” Nia says as she gets pulled out of the liquor store.</p><p>“Yes, what’s your point?”</p><p>“Where would we possibly work at this time of night?”</p><p>“Does it really matter?” She stops in the middle of the sidewalk and looks up. “Okay, we’re ready to go.” They’re met with silence. She’s never missed a shot before, so she has no idea what to do in order to get their next target. “Uh, hello? Anyone up there?”</p><p>“Maybe we can’t leave until we finish this target.”</p><p>“Well, I don’t have any arrows left, do you?”</p><p>Nia shakes her head. “No, I only brought the one for my target – Mike, apparently.” Lena lets out a frustrated sigh and turns to walk back to the liquor store when she walks straight into what feels like a solid brick wall.</p><p>“Jeepers! I’m so sorry. I was coming to ask if you two had any plans after work. I figured there’s no reason all of us should be alone on Valentine’s Day. I know I just met you and you don’t know me, but I thought that…” Lena stops listening somewhere around there and can’t stop staring at Kara’s mouth as she speaks. Her lips quirk and twitch as she nervously rambles through her longwinded invitation and she wonders what they feel like. It looks like Kara moisturizes, uses a healthy amount of chapstick. She feels an elbow in her arm and she looks at Nia, who’s throwing a side-eye at Kara.</p><p>“I’m sorry, what?” she asks dumbly.</p><p>“Oh. I was just wondering if you wanted to help me finish this bottle of wine since you two got out of work early.”</p><p>Nia gives Lena a wink.</p><p>“What happened to Mike?” Lena asks with a twinge of jealousy that she’s embarrassed to admit that she feels.</p><p>“Who? Oh, the guy? I told him I was busy, change of plans,” Kara shrugs. “At least, I hope I have a change of plans.”</p><p>Nia nudges Lena and grins comically wide. Lena sighs. “Fine, okay sure.”</p><p>Kara lets out an excited yelp and jumps up and down. “Okay, great, my apartment isn’t too far from here. Follow me.” She walks briskly down the sidewalk and forces Nia and Lena to speed-walk to catch up with her. They hang back a few steps and Nia whispers to her.</p><p>“Is this a good idea? We’ve never followed a target home before.”</p><p>“If we need to finish this job before we leave, this is the best way to do it. Keep your enemies close.”</p><p>“She’s not an enemy!”</p><p>“You two okay back there?” Kara asks over her shoulder.</p><p>“Yep, we’re fine,” Nia squeaks, rushing up to match Kara’s steps, leaving Lena a few paces behind.</p><p>Within the next ten minutes, they reach Kara’s apartment building and are let inside. They ride the elevator up to Kara’s floor and she pulls her keys out of her purse, unlocking the door. It’s a modern-looking apartment, lots of bright colors and randomly placed art on the walls, photo frames adorning tables and shelves. Kara sets the bottle on her kitchen counter while she looks for a corkscrew.</p><p>“Um, I don’t have anything to eat, so would you both be up for ordering pizza, or something else that can be delivered?”</p><p>“I’m always down for pizza,” says Nia, a little too enthusiastically. “Lena might want a salad, though.”</p><p>Lena glares at her and then gives Kara a tight-lipped smile. “Pizza is fine.” Kara grins happily and pulls her phone out, dialing a number from memory and starts talking into it, acting very familiar with this particular pizza parlor. Lena takes the opportunity to look around the apartment more. It doesn’t seem like there’s any rhyme or reason to any of the decorations, other than they’re things Kara likes. She picks up a photograph of her and another woman. They look close and it makes Lena’s stomach churn. An ex? Current girlfriend who’s out of town?</p><p>“My sister,” Kara says over her shoulder and Lena jumps, nearly dropping the frame on the ground. “Here,” she says, handing Lena a glass of the wine she bought at the liquor store. She takes a sip and raises an eyebrow; Kara has good taste in wine.</p><p>Kara gestures toward the couch and Lena and Nia sit down, while Kara sits in an armchair adjacent to them. “So, um, I obviously didn’t plan on hosting something, so I’m not sure what you want to do. We can watch a movie, or I might have some boardgames. Lena internally groans at the thought of playing boardgames, or even watching a movie, but the way Kara’s eyes look so hopeful, she immediately melts at the ideas and wants to do whatever Kara wants to do.</p><p>This Cupid’s arrow thing is really cramping her style.</p><p>“We should watch a horror movie,” Nia suggests. When the other two give her a funny look, she explains. “Watching a romcom is so predictable. If we watch horror, we won’t feel depressed about being single on Valentine’s Day. Nothing says ‘I love you’ like a lot of mass murder!”</p><p>Kara shifts her eyes between the two women and shrugs. “If Lena’s okay with it, I am.”</p><p>Lena wants to say she’ll do whatever Kara wants, but barely holds it in and just silently nods instead. They end up choosing some random zombie flick and Kara goes back into the kitchen to refill their drinks. Nia moves to the armchair and waggles her eyebrows at Lena. When Kara comes back, she pauses when she sees the musical chairs, but sets down the glasses on the table and takes a seat next to Lena, shooting her a polite smile.</p><p>After the movie starts playing, Lena realizes that she really, <em>really</em> hates horror movies and closes her eyes tight during the scary parts. When the apartment buzzer rings during a particularly suspenseful part, Lena yelps and jumps while Nia barks out a laugh. Kara smiles sympathetically and pauses the movie, getting up and grabbing her wallet before letting the delivery person in. She opens the door and waits with some bills in her hand. When the delivery person hands off the pizza, he looks at the bills and his eyes light up, thanking Kara emphatically.</p><p>“Food’s here!” Kara announces, setting it down on the kitchen counter. She pulls out a few plates and hands them out, everyone serving themselves. They sit back down in front of the TV and Lena stares down at her slice, wondering if it would be too weird if she asked for a fork and knife. It’s just so greasy and she doesn’t want to make a mess, or look like a mess, in front of Kara. What if cheese falls into her lap? Or a pepperoni? What if she burns her mouth and throws the slice against Kara’s wall?</p><p>While she internally panics, Kara glances over at her. “Do you not like pepperoni? I’m so sorry, I didn’t even ask what kind you both wanted. Are you vegetarian? Oh, god, please tell me you aren’t.”</p><p>Lena shakes her head. “No, no, I’m not vegetarian. I’m just… trying to figure out how to eat this without making a mess.”</p><p>Kara laughs heartily. “Really? Just eat it, don’t worry about making a mess. That’s what throw pillows are for. Just dig in.”</p><p>Lena hesitates for another second before picking up the slice of pizza and biting the tip. Kara watches her carefully and chuckles at the sight of Lena trying to delicately eat pizza. Nia’s already nearly finished with her second slice by the time Lena’s done with her first. They watch their first movie and by the end, Nia’s nodding off and Lena’s still buzzing about being so close to Kara. After the credits play, Nia lets out a big yawn and stretches her arms.</p><p>“I think I’m going to head out. You should stay, though,” she says to Lena.</p><p>“What? No, I’ll go with you,” Lena protests, but Nia gives her a sly smile and shakes her head.</p><p>“No, really, I insist. It’s still early and you haven’t even finished your wine,” she says, pointing to the forgotten glass on the table.</p><p>“I can always drive you home,” Kara offers, completely unhelpfully. Lena’s trying to make excuses not to stay and continue being awkward around her target and everyone’s apparently against her.</p><p>“See? Everything’s solved. You stay and I’ll see you tomorrow,” Nia says with a wink. “Thanks for the hangout, Kara.”</p><p>“Anytime,” the blonde smiles. Nia leaves and Lena finds herself even more anxious than before, being alone with Kara, so she does what any well-adjusted Cupid would do and downs the rest of the wine in her glass, which was still at least half-full.</p><p>Kara watches her and blinks a few times before clearing her throat. “Do you want more?” Lena silently shoves her glass into Kara’s hand and watches her walk back into the kitchen to pour her more and her pulse is racing, making her incredibly jittery. Is this what everyone feels like after they get arrowed? It isn’t fun <em>at all</em>. If this is what love feels like, Lena wants no part in it – the clammy hands, the increased heart rate, gazing deep into someone’s eyes and hoping they hold the answers to all your questions – it’s all a bunch of hooey.</p><p>But anyway, all of that melts away when Kara turns her radio onto some soft, slow song and hums along with it while she puts the rest of the pizza into the fridge. The melody rings through Lena’s ears and she swears she can taste color or see music and she’s not even under the influence of anything stronger than wine. Love is a drug, though. Hm, something to consider.</p><p>Lena’s shaken from her internal monologue by Kara handing her the glass of wine back and sitting down on the arm of the couch.</p><p>“So, tell me about yourself,” Kara says while taking a sip from her own glass, eyeing Lena with curiosity. It’s a little disarming when someone who’s basically a walking Disney princess stares like that and Lena’s suddenly unsure what to do with her hands and eyes and mouth.</p><p>“What do you want to know?”</p><p>Kara shrugs. “Everything.”</p><p>“I’m not sure what there is to tell. I have a minimum wage job that I don’t particularly like, I’m single on Valentine’s Day, Nia is pretty much my only friend, because I’m afraid of commitment and people leaving me, which also relates back to the being single on Valentine’s Day.” She says all of that in one breath and takes a deep one at the end. Kara’s still staring at her with those big, dumb eyes of hers and sips her wine with a hum.</p><p>“Okay, well, my job’s not that exciting, I am also single on Valentine’s Day, so I don’t think that’s an indicator of your personality or worth, and I’m also your friend, so now you have two. What else?”</p><p>Lena talks about her job, but doesn’t say exactly what she does. Instead, she calls herself a matchmaker and sees Kara perk up.</p><p>“Really? That’s an actual thing?”</p><p>“Sure,” replies Lena. “I find two people, match them up, and make them fall in love.”</p><p>“Could you do that for me? I’d pay, of course.”</p><p>Lena’s face goes white. “You want me to match you with someone?”</p><p>“Yeah! Figure it couldn’t hurt. I’m not doing myself any favors, so maybe I need some professional intervention.” When Lena doesn’t say anything, Kara furrows her brow and bites her lip. “Or not? You don’t have to, I’m sure you’re really busy and are probably booked up with the time of year and everything.”</p><p>“I’ll do it,” Lena blurts out.</p><p>“Really?” Kara replies, a huge smile spreading across her face. “Oh, this is perfect. Okay, just let me know what I need to do. I can show you my wardrobe, tell you my schedule and what a normal day like. It’ll be like <em>Crazy, Stupid, Love</em>! Can you lift me in the air like Ryan Gosling does to Emma Stone?”</p><p>“Um…”</p><p>“It doesn’t matter, we can figure all of that out later. I’m excited! This is going to be so much fun.”</p><p>Lena forces a smile across her face as if it isn’t physically painful to listen to Kara ask her to match her with someone else. It should be <em>her</em>, even though Kara has no reason to be in love with her, seeing as her dumb arrow missed its target and it had absolutely nothing to do with <em>her</em> missing.</p><p>They agree to meet up the following Friday and Lena tells Kara that she’ll send over some pointers ahead of time, such as what to wear, how to prepare, the usual things people do before picking up people at a bar.</p><p>Nia watches as Lena stresses out about what to wear herself when Friday rolls along. The other Cupid agreed to go with the two of them as moral support, but she was significantly less stressed, wearing a pair of worn jeans and a t-shirt.</p><p>“How does this look?” Lena asks, holding up a pair of slacks and a silk shirt.</p><p>“Who’s the one trying to get a date, again?”</p><p>Lena frowns and tosses the clothes on the bed before going back into her closet. She finally pulls out a navy blue blazer and pairs it with a matching shirt and pants, tying her hair up in a tight ponytail and putting on a light shade of make-up.</p><p>They go to the bar where they’re supposed to meet Kara and her date. Nia is dragged along for moral support, which just means making sure Lena’s glass is always full. They spot Kara standing outside, nervously shuffling her feet. When she sees them, she smiles and waves.</p><p>“Hey! Glad you two are here. What’s first?”</p><p>“First, we head to the bar,” Lena says, walking past the other two and heading straight inside. She orders three drinks and waits for them. Kara and Nia walk up behind her Nia gives her a look. Lena shrugs it off and takes the drinks, paying the bartender and leaving a hefty tip. She takes them to a small booth in the corner and sits down. Nia sits next to her and Kara across. No one says anything while Lena downs her entire drink in one gulp while the other two sip theirs.</p><p>“Your date’s name is Maxwell. He’s about five-eleven, short brown hair, business-type. So, what you’re going to do is let him talk about himself. He’s going to gloat and preen about his job and his money, so the longer you let him do that, the more at ease he’ll be. Then he’ll probably ask about you, he may pretend to be interested, but wait until he offers to buy you a drink. That’s when you strike. Buy the most expensive drink you can think of. That’ll show that you’re not afraid to spend his money and that you’re not timid.”</p><p>Kara nods as she says this, mentally taking notes. Lena stares at the door and nods in its direction.</p><p>“There he is. Go get ‘em, tiger.”</p><p>Maxwell Lord is, in essence, a complete and utter pill. Lena chose him, because his rating was low and his Cupid compatibility with Kara was also low, based on their zodiacs, enneagrams, professions, and just the fact that Maxwell really only had the capability of loving himself and his status. About an hour into their date, Kara comes back to the booth and sits down, frowning.</p><p>“What happened?” Nia asks.</p><p>“I told him I needed to go to the bathroom and came back here.  This isn’t working. All he does is talk about the stock market and deals his company’s made in the last budget year. It’s all so boring.” Kara whines.</p><p>“Okay, well, we’re your emergency evacuation service, so Lena will take care of it and I’ll sneak you out.”</p><p>Lena internally high-fives herself and walks over to Maxwell, who’s nursing a drink. “Apologies, but your date has terminated this encounter. I will continue looking for suitable matches for you.”</p><p>Maxwell sneers at her. “Well, maybe next time, you can choose someone who isn’t so vapid and dull.”</p><p>People like Maxwell Lord didn’t get matched by Cupids’ arrows. They were forced to roam in the wild, looking for love, because they really only loved themselves. Lena was hoping to choose from this pool of contenders to keep Kara available until she could make her move, if she ever did.</p><p>She joins the other two outside and they’re discussing something funny, as Kara’s laughing and her face is scrunched. “I’m sorry this one didn’t work out. We can try again,” Lena says.</p><p>“Oh, that’s okay. I didn’t expect this to work on the first try. Just let me know when the next date is and I’ll be there.”</p><p>Lena presses her mouth into a straight line and curled the very corners into what slightly resembles a smile before saying goodbye to Kara. She and Nia walk down the sidewalk and Nia keeps glancing over at the other Cupid.</p><p>“What?” Lena growls.</p><p>“Nothing!” Nia yells in surprise. A beat of silence passes. “I’m just wondering how you chose Maxwell as Kara’s date. It was clear that the two of them weren’t a match, but you chose him anyway.”</p><p>“That dating pool in National City is surprisingly low,” Lena explains, even though it’s a very weak argument, seeing how the city has the highest contingency of Cupids in the state. Nia gives her a dubious look and shakes her head.</p><p>“Well, whatever it is you’re doing, be careful. We don’t want to get into anymore trouble than we already are.”</p><p>It’s strange that none of the Head Cupids have come looking for them yet or asked why they haven’t returned. They’re usually very efficient with their targets, but they’re already a day past their regular time frame. In any case, Lena has to look through the database and find another unworthy man to pair up with Kara on her next date.</p><p>It happens two more times – Lena finds Morgan Edge, an up-and-coming politician who doesn’t have time to date, but is making time for Kara, because politicians with pretty significant others tend to do better in the polls. It takes exactly eight minutes for Kara to seek out Lena and Nia for extraction.</p><p>The next date is with a photojournalist named James and they actually appear to hit it off, unfortunately for Lena. They’re laughing at their table and James keeps going back to the bar to buy them drinks. Kara gives them both a big smile and a thumbs up and Lena feels her stomach roil. Still, she smiles back and raises her glass. A job well done, matched another pair.</p><p>At the end of the night, Kara says goodbye to James and bounds up to the other two with a bright, shining smile on her face.</p><p>“We’re going to see each other next Friday,” Kara squeals and claps her hands excitedly.</p><p>“That’s great,” Lena says flatly.</p><p>“I’m happy for you,” Nia adds, slightly more enthusiastically.</p><p>“I couldn’t have done this without you two and your guidance, honestly. Thank you so much. Lena, you really are a miracle worker.”</p><p>Kara invites them over to her apartment, but Lena pipes up and declines, saying it’s already pretty late and coming up with some vague excuse why she can’t go. Lena mopes for the rest of the night and Nia doesn’t know what to do or say to help, so they stop by the liquor store where they met Kara and buy some alcohol to take back with them.</p><p>“Feelings are dumb,” Lena frowns as she sits on a bench on a park, drinking straight from a bottle of whiskey. “Whose idea was it for love to exist, anyway?”</p><p>“Maybe if we tell the higher ups, they have a way to reverse it,” Nia suggests.</p><p>“And if we do that, I’ll admit to having missed my target and completely ruin my perfect streak.”</p><p>“Well, it’s either that, or you continue to torture yourself around Kara. Your choice.”</p><p>Lena lets out a sigh of exasperation and thinks it over. On one hand, she really hates having feelings. On the other, Kara is really dreamy - wait, no. <em>No. </em>God, this is a nightmare.</p><p>“Fine, I’ll make a call,” she finally concedes. It’s for the best, anyway. Love is one irritating thing, but unrequited love is a whole different animal.</p><p>The next week, Kara texts Lena and tells her all the intimate details of her date with James. She tries not to gag when Kara gets to the part where they kissed goodnight and ignores the acid swirling around in her gut. She’s getting paid to give feedback and root for Kara’s dates. It still hurts like a bitch, though.</p><p>She makes an appointment with one of the Cupid doctors and heads over to her office to get a check-up. She waits in the lobby while some smooth jazz plays from the speakers, and when she hears her name called, she stands and walks toward the nurse.</p><p>“Right this way, Miss Luthor,” the nurse says, gesturing through the door. Lena walks through it and the nurse goes through the preliminary check-up, checking temperature and blood pressure, and asking her some questions. The nurse has her put on a gown and tells her the doctor will be in shortly. A ‘short’ forty minutes later, the doctor walks in and sits down in a chair next to her.</p><p>“Okay, Lena, is it? Says here you shot yourself with one of your arrows and now you’re experiencing, and I quote, ‘uncomfortable feelings of affection and disgusting emotions that only dweebs have,’ is that correct?”</p><p>“Yes. I want them gone,” Lena replies. “Whatever love drug is put into our arrows, I want the antidote.”</p><p>The doctor nods and types some things into his computer. “Okay, I just need to take a blood sample to see which cocktail of Cupid juice they use in your arrows. Hold out your arm.” She does so and the doctor puts on some gloves before taking out a syringe and tying a rubber tube around Lena’s upper arm. “This is going to pinch a little.”</p><p>Lena rolls her eyes and just wants the doctor to get it over with. She watches her blood fill up the plastic tube and the doctor slides it out, placing a cotton ball on the insertion point.</p><p>“Press down and I’ll be right back with the results.”</p><p>Lena does as she’s told and looks around the room, noting the ridiculously optimistic posters on the wall, telling patients to eat healthy and get enough rest, so they can tackle each day with gusto and there’s also a brochure about their optometry department to make sure their eyes are healthy enough for targeting. There’s a knock on the door and the doctor walks in with a piece of paper on his hand and a slight furrow on his brow.</p><p>He sits down in the chair again, reading over the results. “You said you got stuck with your own arrow?”</p><p>“That’s right. I had my target and then someone ran into me right as I released it and felt something poke me. Then I started feeling… things for my target right after.”</p><p>“Interesting,” the doctor hums. “Well, according to your blood work, there’s no love drug in your system.”</p><p>Lena pauses, blinks, replays that sentence over again in her head. “I’m sorry, I thought you just said I <em>don’t</em> have the love drug in my system.”</p><p>“That’s correct, see here, your serotonin levels are elevated, but this line here shows that it’s just your own brain making it. There’s no outside source creating extra.”</p><p>Lena scoffs. “No, that can’t be. I felt it hit me. The results were instantaneous.”</p><p>“Did you actually see the arrow or pull it out?”</p><p>“Well, no, but—”</p><p>“I’m happy to say you’re in love the old-fashioned way, Miss Luthor.</p><p>“That-that’s preposterous! I didn’t even know Kara before. How could I be in love with her after seeing her for five minutes? This is ridiculous, I want a second opinion.” She stands up and grabs her clothes without putting them on and leaves the room. The doctor yells after her, but she storms out. She grabs Nia by the arm and pulls her out of the doctor’s office.</p><p>“Whoa, what’s the hurry?” They walk outside and start getting looks, because Lena’s bare ass is still hanging out of her gown. “Uh, Lena? You might want to put some clothes on.” She ignores the advice and continues walking, her destination completely unknown. They stop in front of a diner and Lena’s about to walk in when Nia points to a ‘No shirt, no shoes, no service’ sign. Lena sighs heavily and throws her clothes on quickly and Nia does her best to cover her friend, who apparently doesn’t care about modesty in the middle of the street.</p><p>Lena slumps down inside a booth and Nia sits in front of her, watching Lena as she scans through the menu.</p><p>“<em>Lena</em>.”</p><p>“What?” Lena snaps and winces. “Sorry, I’m just trying to work through some things the doctor told me.”</p><p>“What <em>did</em> he say?”</p><p>“He said I wasn’t arrowed. Can you believe it? I don’t know how this man hasn’t had his medical license taken away yet, because he clearly doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” Nia nervously bites her bottom lip and stares at her glass of water that the waitress had brought when they sat down. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Lena asks.</p><p>“Is now a bad time to tell you that I think I was the one who poked you with an arrow?”</p><p>Lena blinks and takes a deep breath. “Are you messing with me?”</p><p>“Um, no? I think I accidentally poked you when the guy ran into the store. He scared me and I jerked my bow and I think it hit you at just the right time.”</p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner, instead of watching me act like a complete idiot for the past month?”</p><p>Nia reached across the table. “In all of the years we’ve been working together, I’ve never seen you like this. You’ve been borderline pleasant whenever Kara’s been around.”</p><p>Lena glares at her and is about to argue when the waitress returns, right on time. They order their food and just as Lena’s about to forget that she was supposed to yell at Nia, she receives a text.</p><p>From Kara.</p><p>
  <em>Hey! Been a while since we’ve hung out. I wanted to see if you were free tonight. Maybe we can grab dinner and watch a movie at my place – or yours! No pressure!</em>
</p><p>Lena flipped her phone over, screen-side down and covered her face with her hands. “This is hell. I’m actually in hell.”</p><p>“Who was that?” Nia asks. “Was that Kara?”</p><p>“She wants to hang out.”</p><p>“Okay, so what’s the problem?”</p><p>Lena slaps her hands down onto the table. “The <em>problem</em> is that she has a boyfriend now. I don’t want to have to listen to how amazing James is and how I did such a great job matching them. That’s like—it’s like the cosmos laughing at me. I don’t understand what I did to deserve this. Didn’t I do my job to the best of my ability? Cupids aren’t supposed to fall in love, we’re the ones who make others fall in love.”</p><p>“So you admit you’re in love. That’s a good first step.” Lena throws her head down onto her folded arms and makes a frustrated grunt. Nia looks at her colleague with sympathy. “Look, Kara’s awesome and she’d be lucky to have you. Maybe she and James won’t work out and then you can match her with yourself.”</p><p>“I can’t do that,” Lena sighs. “I can’t manipulate things in my favor.”</p><p>“It isn’t manipulation if you both want it.”</p><p>“What makes you think she wants it? Wants me? She’s shown no indication of desiring anything other than men, which, ew. I don’t get it, honestly, but I guess it’s not my place to judge.”</p><p>Nia rolls her eyes. “I’m assuming her text was her wanting to hang out with you. So, go hang out. Get to know her. She’ll see how fun you are underneath all of that prickly armor you have on. Here, I’ll accept the invitation for you.” She reaches across the table for Lena’s phone and punches in the password.</p><p>“How do you even know that?”</p><p>“It’s the first six numbers of pi, duh. And done, you’ve got a date with Kara.”</p><p>“It’s not a date,” Lena grumps, snatching her phone back. Kara replies back immediately with about ten different emojis, which Lena assumes is a good thing, and she’s already regretting it.</p><p>//</p><p>Lena stands in front of Kara’s apartment building, holding a bag of Chinese food that she picked up on her way there. Her finger hovers over the buzzer, but doesn’t press down on it. It’s not too late, she can leave. Tell Kara she came down with something and had to bail last-minute. She’s good at coming up with excuses for herself. Just as she’s about to convince herself, the door opens and an elderly woman takes a look at her and smiles.</p><p>“You coming in, dear?”</p><p>“Oh, uh, yes?”</p><p>“Well, come on then. Don’t catch a cold.” She holds the door open for Lena and tells her to keep warm as she trots down the sidewalk. Lena takes the stairs to give her time to breathe and figure out what she’s supposed to do around Kara. She reaches the fourth floor and finds the correct apartment. Taking a deep breath, she knocks three times and waits. There’s a <em>thump</em> behind the door and juvenile cursing behind the door before it swings open and a bright smile greets her.</p><p>“Lena, hi! I’m so glad you made it.” She ushers her inside and takes the bag from her. “Oh man, this smells delicious.” She grabs a couple plates out of her cupboard and sets them down on the counter before pulling each box of food out and lining them up.</p><p>Lena watches her silently and decides to get it over with, rip off the band-aid, find out how in love Kara is.</p><p>“So, how are you and James?”</p><p>Kara darts her eyes up and her brow is slightly furrowed. “James—oh, he’s good. Um, we kind of decided we were better as friends, which isn’t saying you didn’t match us well. We’re really compatible, just not romantically. Still worked out, though! He’s going to talk to my boss about getting me out on the field more for stories.”</p><p>Lena feels her heart beat start to pick up. It’s been weeks. Why didn’t Kara tell her sooner?</p><p>“Anyway, that’s not important,” Kara waves her hand in the air. “Sorry I’ve been kind of MIA lately, work has been killing me lately and I figured you were busy with your own stuff, too. I didn’t want to bug you. What’s been going on with you?”</p><p><em>Oh, you know, shirking off Cupid duties to follow my target around, because I’m in love and apparently a masochist.</em> Lena dumps a pile of chow mein on her plate and slides a few pieces of orange chicken next to it. “Not much, really. Just working.”</p><p>Kara waits for more, but when Lena doesn’t continue, she starts dishing out her own food. They sit at the table and start eating and Kara appears to be a pro at using chopsticks while Lena struggles.</p><p>“Here, like this,” Kara says, showing Lena how to hold them. The warmth of Kara’s hands on hers makes the blood rush to her face and she mumbles a thanks. They finish eating and Lena stands near the couch awkwardly. Kara walks over with a couple of glasses of wine, handing one to Lena. “So, I didn’t really have anything planned. We can watch a movie, or something. Or we can go out. Whatever you want.”</p><p>“I’d like to stay in, if that’s okay with you,” Lena says. The idea of going out to a bar or anywhere out in public is giving her a stomachache.</p><p>“That’s perfectly fine! Make yourself at home, I’m just going to clean up a little.” She turns the TV on and lets it autoplay whatever’s on. “Oh, Hercules! This is a good one.”</p><p>“I’ve never seen it,” Lena says. Kara looks at her in horror, clutching at her chest.</p><p>“<em>What?</em> Never?”</p><p>“Never.”</p><p>“Okay, pause.” She pauses the movie. “We need to give this our undivided attention. Let me just put the food away.” Kara zips around her kitchen, putting food into containers and then comes back to the couch with refilled wine glasses. She sits down next to Lena and plays the movie. “This is one of the best Disney movies ever made, and I’m not just saying that, because I’m a sucker for Greek mythology. That’s the gospel truth!”</p><p>Kara knows every word of dialogue and every song, serenading Lena through the entire thing and when she gets to Megara singing “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love),” Lena is seconds away from proposing. Kara stands up suddenly and offers her hand. Lena stares at it questioningly.</p><p>“Come on! Take my hand,” Kara says gleefully. Lena does so and she’s pulled up to her feet and Kara takes one hand in hers and wraps her other around Lena’s waist, pulling her close.</p><p>“What are you doing?” Lena asks, trying not to make eye contact or breathe too deeply, or breathe at all.</p><p>“Dancing,” comes the simple reply.</p><p>“Yes, I see that, but why?”</p><p>“Do you believe in love at first sight?” Kara whispers into her ear as they continue to sway to the music.</p><p>Lena barely holds in a scoff and shakes her head. “Not in the slightest. There’s no such thing.” Kara hums and tightens her hold on Lena’s lower back. Lena knows it doesn’t exist, because they’re the ones who pick and choose who people love. It’s all up to them and whoever’s in charge. Kara presses her cheek against the side of Lena’s head and starts to sing along with the song, her voice vibrating through Lena’s entire body. Lena suddenly feels out of place and uncomfortable, pushing herself away from Kara.</p><p>“Are you okay?”</p><p>“I just remembered I need to wake up early tomorrow morning for a meeting.”</p><p>“Tomorrow is Saturday,” Kara frowns.</p><p>“Yeah, uh, overtime.” She takes a couple steps back and bumps into the edge of the couch.</p><p>“Did I do something wrong?”</p><p>“No, no, it’s me. I’m—it’s me. I’m sorry.”</p><p>“Lena,” Kara says, attempting to fix whatever it is that’s broken, but Lena keeps backing up toward the door.</p><p>“I had a really nice night,” she says, grabbing her coat off the coatrack and throwing it over her shoulders.</p><p>“Yeah, thanks for coming,” Kara replies, resigned to the fact that she can’t convince Lena to stay. “I’ll text you?” She says it like a question, but it’s more like a plea.</p><p>“Of course,” Lena says with a tight-lipped smile. “Goodnight, Kara.”</p><p>Kara follows her to the door and holds it open for her. “Goodnight.” Lena brushes past her and walks down the hall toward the elevator, not looking back, but she knows Kara’s watching her. She presses the elevator call button rapidly as if it’ll make it come faster, and when it does, she walks through the doors and presses the button to the lobby, not looking up, because she can’t look at Kara.</p><p>When the elevator hits the ground floor, she walks out and feels like a ghost, floating through and not really existing. The fact that she doesn’t have a home to hide out in bothers her; there’s nowhere for her to go, so she goes to the same liquor store down the street. Nia shows up right on cue and looks like she’s contemplating giving her a hug.</p><p>“Kara didn’t feel the same way?”</p><p>“I didn’t tell her, I couldn’t. She asked me if I believed in love at first sight and then it just made me feel strange. We manipulate love, that’s what we do. Whoever gives us the names decides who people are going to fall for and I don’t see why we should have a say. Why not let them decide on their own?”</p><p>“Are we not going to discuss how odd of a question that is? What were you doing when she asked you?”</p><p>“We were slow dancing.”</p><p>Nia barks out a sharp laugh. “You’re kidding me.”</p><p>“I’m trying not to think about it.”</p><p>“If this were a romcom, Kara would be running out of her building, chasing after you, and because we’re predictable, we’d be standing in front of the place the two of you first met and then she’ll be out of breath, trying to tell you to wait and that she’s madly in love with you and knows you are, too, but you were both too afraid of getting hurt and the whole matchmaker thing was a ruse and just a reason for Kara to spend more time with you.”</p><p>“It was also a way to get her phone number,” a voice says behind them. They both jump and turn around. Kara’s standing there with a sheepish grin on her face and her hands in her coat pockets.</p><p>“Oops,” Nia mumbles. “Oh look, the liquor store has half-priced chocolates.” She runs inside, leaving Lena alone with Kara.</p><p>“Nia! Seriously?” She turns back toward Kara, not meeting her eyes, and clears her throat. “How much of that did you hear?”</p><p>“I heard the part where you said you manipulate love.”</p><p>“So, all of it. Great,” Lena sighs and runs her hand down her face.</p><p>“The two of you really are matchmakers, then?”</p><p>“Technically speaking, we’re Cupids. We get our targets and we find them, shoot them with an arrow, then <em>poof</em>. Love. You were my target and I missed you and now I’m stuck here until I finish the job, so I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to find that Mike guy and Nia’s supposed to arrow him while I arrow you.”</p><p>Kara laughs and then stops when she realizes Lena isn’t laughing or smiling at her own joke. “Oh, you’re serious.”</p><p>“I’m afraid so.”</p><p>“Wait, Mike? That sleazy guy who tried to invite us to his bachelor’s party? I don’t want him.”</p><p>“Those are the rules,” Lena shrugs.</p><p>“But what if I want someone else? What if I… love someone else?”</p><p>“No idea, it’s never happened before. <em>I’ve</em> never missed a target before.”</p><p>“Well, I think I should get a say in the matter,” Kara says defiantly, crossing her arms over her chest.</p><p>“Doesn’t work that way,” replies Lena, dipping her head down to her chest.</p><p>“So, if I said I didn’t want Mike, that I want you, that wouldn’t mean anything? I would still have to be with him?” Lena’s eyes trail up to Kara’s face and her chest tightens when she sees the desperation in her eyes. “If I said that I love you, that wouldn’t change anything at all?”</p><p>“There has to be balance,” Lena says quietly. “If only one of our arrows works, that means the love will be unrequited and who knows what’ll happen then?”</p><p>They’re quiet for a while and hear the robotic bell of the doors to the liquor store. Nia walks out with an armful of candy and a stick of licorice hanging from her mouth. “You two will never guess who I saw inside. Remember that Mike guy? He was in there with some woman and they were all over each other, so I guess his bachelor party thing worked out in his favor. Guess my arrow just fizzled out after a while.”</p><p>Lena looked through the glass doors at Mike and the other woman and, sure enough, they looked like they were in love. There was balance. She should be free to be with Kara, to love her. Her vision starts to blur and she feels lightheaded. She can hear Kara’s voice, asking if she’s all right, but it sounds hollow, like an echo. Everything starts to get dim as she feels herself being pulled away. When her vision clears, she’s in a dark room and the only thing there is a large desk with a halo of light around it. Kind of dramatic.</p><p>A woman walks forward, out of the darkness, she’s tall and has red hair. She sits down at the desk and folds her hands in front of her.</p><p>“Lena, welcome back.”</p><p>Lena stands up and brushes herself off. “Lillian.”</p><p>The woman lets out a long, drawn-out sigh. “I’ve told you to call me Mother.”</p><p>“And I’ve told you to that calling the Head Cupid ‘Mother’ would be really weird.”</p><p>Lillian huffs out a laugh and shakes her head. “This is the first time you’ve missed a target and the first time it’s taken you longer than a day to finish your task.”</p><p>“Out of how many tasks? I say I should get some leniency.”</p><p>“I’m not here to admonish or chastise you, dear. I was watching the whole thing. You like that mortal, your target.”</p><p>Lena shrugs. “I don’t like nor dislike her. She’s just a target.”</p><p>“You can try to fool yourself, but you can’t fool me, Lena. You forget I know what every type of love looks like.”</p><p>“It doesn’t matter. I’m a Cupid. I’m meant to make others fall in love, not fall in love myself.”</p><p>“What if you weren’t one?”</p><p>Lena looks at Lillian like she grew an extra head. “What are you talking about?”</p><p>“What if you were no longer a Cupid? If you were mortal? Would you choose to go back to her?”</p><p>“I don’t-I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it. If I did, I would never be able to come back here again.”</p><p>“Oh please, like that would really be a factor in your decision. I’m giving you a choice. Either you can stay here, continue your work, continue being a miserable distributor of love, or you can take your chances with the mortal. Take a chance at happiness.”</p><p>“What about you?”</p><p>“What about me? I’ll be fine. I have this job to keep me company and knowing you’re happy is enough for me.”</p><p>Lena weighs her options. If she leaves, she’ll have to say goodbye to her mother and Nia, but she’ll have Kara. However, what if Kara realizes she’s made a mistake and it turns out she doesn’t love Lena? Then she’ll end up alone, anyway. She churns through every possible outcome and most of them end up with her alone, because her fear is holding her back. Lillian gets up from her desk and walks around to stand in front of her daughter.</p><p>“I know I haven’t been the best mother to you. I’ve taught you that duty comes first and there’s no room for emotions, but I was wrong. I’m setting you free, Lena. If you love this girl, go get her.”</p><p>“What if she doesn’t feel the same way I do? I’ll end up alone.”</p><p>“There’s always a risk when it comes to the heart, but you have to decide whether or not the risk is worth the reward. Is she worth it?”</p><p>“I think so,” Lena says with an uncertainty that also feels so certain. She knows she loves Kara and she knows that she’ll be happy with her, but there’s always that feeling in the back of her mind telling her it won’t work out, that nothing ever does.</p><p>“Then you have your answer. You can take today to say goodbye, if you wish, and then I’ll escort you back down to the mortal world.</p><p>Lena doesn’t really have anyone to say goodbye to, other than Nia, but she’s nowhere to be found. It’s a little disappointing, because Lena doesn’t have many people in her life and she wants Nia to know that she was able to tolerate her enough to call her a friend. When she’s ready to leave, she meets Lillian and the descend back down to the mortal realm, right in front of Kara’s apartment complex. Lillian surprises her daughter with a hug goodbye and tells her she’ll be watching.</p><p>“I’m so proud of you. I love you,” she whispers into Lena’s hair and it very nearly makes Lena break down. Her mother never so much as uttered the word ‘love’ to her, unless it was about a job and she realizes how much she’s going to miss Lillian.</p><p>Lena takes a deep breath and presses the buzzer to Kara’s apartment and there’s no answer for a few seconds. She starts to wonder if Kara’s even home, realizing she has no idea what day or time it is.</p><p>“Hello?” a staticky voice comes through the speaker.</p><p>“Um, hi,” Lena replies. “It’s Lena.” Silence follows and Lena thinks Kara’s upset with her for leaving, but then there’s a crash and the door to the stairs slamming open into the wall and then Kara rushing outside to scoop Lena up into her arms, spinning her around in a circle.</p><p>“Oh my god, put me down!” Lena screeches.</p><p>“I thought you were gone,” Kara says, finally putting Lena down and holding her face in her hands.</p><p>“I came back,” Lena replies with a genuine smile. Her hands grip the collar of Kara’s jacket as if she’s afraid she’ll float away again.</p><p>“You came back,” Kara repeats and looks into Lena’s eyes, gazing deep into them. Her lips part and she sucks in a breath, waiting, biding her time, silently asking for permission and Lena grants it by standing on her toes and leaning in to kiss her. Lillian vanishes somewhere around that time, satisfied by what she sees, and a cool breeze passes through as she goes. Lena flicks her tongue against Kara’s lip and pulls away, making the blonde chase her and smiles when she catches her lips again.</p><p>Someone clears their throat behind them and they freeze, slowly prying themselves away from each other.</p><p>“Nia?” Lena gasps.</p><p>“Glad to see you two finally sucking face. It’s about time. I was getting really tired of seeing you two dance around each other.”</p><p>“You didn’t see us dancing around each other,” Lena argues.</p><p>“Okay, I was tired of seeing you mope around and being all self-deprecating, like ‘woe is me, Kara doesn’t lo— ‘” Lena slaps a hand over Nia’s mouth and glares.</p><p>“What are you even doing here? Why aren’t you getting your next task?”</p><p>Nia shrugs. “I quit.”</p><p>“Wait, you quit, too?”</p><p>“I wasn’t all too excited about getting a new partner and your mom said you’d need someone to keep an eye on you. Besides, the cashier at the liquor store is kinda cute. He says his name is Brainy. How cool is that? Anyway, are you going to invite us up to your apartment, or what?” She directs her question to Kara.</p><p>“Oh, uh, yeah, of course. You’re both welcome anytime.”</p><p>“Actually, Nia, I was hoping to have a little time to Kara alone? Maybe we can meet up later.”</p><p>“Oh, right, say no more,” Nia taps her nose. “I’ll go see what Brainy’s up to.” She heads down the street and Lena watches her leave. She turns back around and sees Kara just staring at her.</p><p>“Hi.”</p><p>“Hi,” the blonde smiles. “Alone time, huh? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were going to try and take advantage of me and my virtuous proclivities.”</p><p>Lena laughs. “Shut up and open the door.” Kara unlocks the front door and leads them inside, holding her hand the entire way. Lena feels strange, and not in a bad way this time, like she’s been afraid all her life and now the warmth that’s coming from Kara’s hand is like the same comfort a person gets from a hug. It grounds her and reminds her that Kara wants her here, that she made the right decision.</p><p>The idea that no one chooses their love and that it’s chosen for them is something that Lena’s wrestled with her entire life. As a Cupid, she was in control of whether or not people fell in love. She gently guided two people to each other and then it was up to them to work through things and decide whether or not their love was a lasting one. With Kara, she feels like since it wasn’t a love that was necessarily chosen for her, she has an advantage. While she did think that it wasn’t under her control at first, since it turned out to just be her own feelings and the way <em>she</em> felt about Kara, it also meant that her initial feelings were genuine. She loves Kara wholly, completely, and she chose that for herself. Part of her wonders if her mother had a hand in it, but there were too many unknown variables for it to have been staged. Being in Kara’s arms just feels right, like that’s where she’s meant to be. She knows Kara feels the same way, because with a simple look, she can convey that to Lena. One look and Lena knows how much Kara loves her. If love is a drug, she’s ready to be under its influence for good.</p><p>Life as a regular human is different and Lena has to admit that it’s a little boring when she doesn’t have to chase anyone around and find their matches, but she gets to share her life with Kara, which makes it worth it. They do all sorts of domestic things together – cook meals, watch their favorite shows, game nights with Kara’s friends, along with Nia and Brainy. It’s definitely changed Lena’s view on love and the many types there are. Instead of it being something to protect herself against, she’s allowed it to fill her up and overflow like an erupting volcano. It’s no longer something she fears, but has embraced, knowing that Kara will be there to help her along the way, because their love wasn’t chosen for them. She can look at Kara and know that they chose each other.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy VD! This is a gift to Anna/littlemousejelly. I hope you liked it, and I hope the rest of you liked it, as well. If you didn't have a valentine this year, I'm your valentine now.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>